February 18, 2025, at 7:30 PM ET

“Sharing Love in Difficult Times”

With Diann L. Neu and the WATER staff

Watch the recording of the WATERritual here.

Praise women of the seven continents for the inspiration and justice they bring to the world.

Preparation: Gather a globe and a picture of a powerful and inspiring woman. 

Welcome

March is Women’s History Month. The theme for Women’s Herstory Month in 2025 is “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.” This theme celebrates the impact of women who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship, and leadership. That includes us! 

This is a time to raise up women. It is a month to speak their names, tell their stories, and thank them for sharing their unique gifts with the world. It is a chance to become one of those women.

Today we honor and thank women locally, nationally, and internationally for sharing their unique gifts with the world. Who comes to your mind and heart as you think about women who inspire you? Bring specific women from around the world into your consciousness.

Song: “Standing on the Shoulders” by Earth Mama from Love Large album, Women’s Suffrage Anthem @1996 2015 All rights reserved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjjKXuceRYQ&ab_channel=EarthMama

Listen to Inspiring Women

“As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and we’ll all be better off for it.”– Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American lawyer, jurist, and Supreme Court Justice

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” –Alice Walker, Black American novelist 

“We need to encourage girls that their voice matters. I think there are hundreds and thousands of Malalas out there.” – Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani education activist

“We can choose to be a character in a story written by someone else or we can choose to be the author of our own story.” – Ruby Garcia, Latina Leadership and Visibility Coach

“I know that I can’t give up; I have to keep going. I want to set a precedent for other girls and women that you can go after your wildest passions.” – Mita Mallick, DEI corporate change-maker

Litany of Gratitude 

Let us thank international women for their unique gifts to the world.

Thank you, Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist and youngest Nobel Prize laureate, for defying the Taliban in Pakistan and demanding that girls be allowed to receive an education.
            We are grateful! Shukran شكرا! (Arabic)

Thank you, Qiu Jin, China’s first feminist executed in 1907, for fighting for the emancipation of women at a time when such movements did not exist in China, for refusing to bind your feet, for leaving your loveless marriage to study in Japan, and for starting your own feminist newspaper, Chinese Women.
            We are grateful! Xie-Xie! (Chinese)

Thank you, Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks, and the brave women who sparked the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, for refusing segregation.
We are grateful! Thank you!

Thank you, Sadako Sasaki, Japanese hibakusha “bomb-affected person” after Hiroshima, for folding one thousand origami cranes before your death, a symbol of the innocent victims of nuclear warfare.
            We are grateful! Arigatō 有り難う(Japanese)

Thank you, Rigoberta Menchü Tum, K’iche’ political and human rights activist from Guatemala, for dedicating your life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala’s indigenous women and ethnocultural reconciliation, and for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.
We are grateful! Gracias! (Spanish)

Thank you, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz of Mexico for courageously criticizing misogyny and the hypocrisy of the patriarchy that led to your condemnation by the bishop of Puebla.
We are grateful! Merci! (French) 

Thank you, Mercy Sister Theresa Kane, for challenging Pope John Paul II to open all roles in the Roman Catholic Church, including ordination, to women.
We are grateful! Grazie! (Italian)

Thank you, Wangari Maathai, Kenyan ecologist who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, for your contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace with women to reverse African deforestation.
We are grateful! Asante! (Swahili)

Thank you, Greta Thunberg, Lisa Neubauer, Ilyess El Korbi, Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti, and other young women, for taking action and fighting for our climate.
We are grateful! Salamat! (Tagalog)

Thank you, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, for urging mercy at a time of merciless actions by the U.S. government toward immigrants and LGBTQIA people.
We are grateful! Tack! (Swedish)

Thank you, mothers, grandmothers, ancestors, and all who have nurtured in every family and country, for shaping generations with your inspiration and leading by great example.
We are grateful! Danke! (German) 

The list is endless. Hold up a picture of an inspiring women.
We are grateful! Spasibo спасибо! (Russian)

Song: “I Am Woman Hear Me Roar” by Helen Reddy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrVLL7soS1U 

Reflection | Sharing

So many women have educated us and inspired us. How lucky we are to have such mentors. We have named some of them here, but there are so many more. What women come to your mind and heart as you think about Women’s Herstory? What women have inspired you to change the world? 

Praise Women of the Seven Continents

Hold your globe. 

Let us praise women of the seven continents for the education and inspiration they bring to the world.

Praise to you, Sisters of Asia, for your strong resistance to oppression.
  Praise to you, Sisters of Africa, for raising your voices in public squares.
Praise to you, Sisters of Europe, for your leadership in peacekeeping.
  Praise to you, Sisters of North America, for confronting inequalities of race, gender, and class.
Praise to you, Sisters of South America, for struggles that bring about equality.
  Praise to you, Sisters in Antarctica, for your scientific research.
Praise to you, Sisters of Australia, for your steadfast demands for justice.

Take Action

Let us put our prayers into action. Here are some possible ways.

~ Place pictures of inspirational women around your home.
~ Search for a woman online whom you admire, read her biography, and let it inspire you to shape your own story.
~ Write a letter or send an email to a woman who has guided you.
~ Take a wise woman out to dinner or cook a festive meal for her.
~ Make a collage or scrapbook of the names of women who have sparked in you a passion for justice. Add pictures and quotes, achievements, or ongoing struggles for justice.
~ Speak out to end discrimination, violence, and murders of trans women and in particular trans women of color.
~ Advocate for women’s rights to move forward and not regress on issues such as choice, non-discrimination, comprehensive immigration reform, and voting rights.
~ Share your wisdom and tools with young women and empower them to make change.

Sending Forth

Let us go forth and continue to raise up women. Let us create an environment where women support and encourage one another.

Let us speak women’s names, tell their stories, and thank them for sharing their unique gifts with the world.

Let us be women who educate and inspire others.

Song: “Something Inside So Strong: Live ft Annatoria & Ché Kirah” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkwzl8J5nWU

© 2025 Diann L. Neu, co-director of WATER, dneu@hers.com, www.waterwomensalliance.org